Leader of world's largest vaccine manufacturer flees India after threats from rich and powerful
The CEO of the Serum Institute in India, the world’s largest vaccine manufacturers, has fled India, claiming he and his family had been threatened by some of the most powerful people in the country.
© Provided by National Post Adar Poonawalla, chief executive officer of Serum Institute of India Ltd., poses for photograph in Pune, Maharashtra, India, on Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2015.
In an interview with the Times of London, published on Saturday May 1, Adar Poonawalla said he flew to London after enduring phone calls from chief ministers of Indian states, business leaders and others demanding that they receive the vaccine first.
“‘Threats’ is an understatement,” Poonawalla said. “The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented.”
The Serum Institute has been producing over 600 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine month, supplied around the world. It is also responsible for supplying 90 per cent of India’s vaccines, as the second COVID-19 wave ravages the country, killing up to 4,000 people a day.
“It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” he said. “They are saying if you don’t give us the vaccine it’s not going to be good. It’s not foul language. It’s the tone. It’s the implication of what they might do if I don’t comply.”
The situation, at a point, had gotten so bad that several people had surrounded Poonawalla’s company multiple times, and accused him of profiting from the COVID-19 vaccines, he said.
In April, the institute put a price tag on the supply of domestic vaccine Covishield, charging private hospitals Rs.600 (C$9.94) per vaccine dose supply and government and state hospitals Rs. 400 per dose supply (C$ 6.63).
“Everything falls on my shoulders, but I can’t do it alone…I don’t want to be in a situation where you are just trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y or Z, you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do,” Poonawalla told The Times.
He told the outlet that he planned to stay in London for an ‘extended period of time’, but hours after the interview was published, tweeted that he would return in a few days.
The pharmaceutical company plans to begin production of the vaccines in London in the coming days, according to Poonawalla.
“There’s going to be an announcement in the next few days,” he said.
In an interview with the Times of London, published on Saturday May 1, Adar Poonawalla said he flew to London after enduring phone calls from chief ministers of Indian states, business leaders and others demanding that they receive the vaccine first.
“‘Threats’ is an understatement,” Poonawalla said. “The level of expectation and aggression is really unprecedented.”
The Serum Institute has been producing over 600 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine month, supplied around the world. It is also responsible for supplying 90 per cent of India’s vaccines, as the second COVID-19 wave ravages the country, killing up to 4,000 people a day.
“It’s overwhelming. Everyone feels they should get the vaccine. They can’t understand why anyone else should get it before them,” he said. “They are saying if you don’t give us the vaccine it’s not going to be good. It’s not foul language. It’s the tone. It’s the implication of what they might do if I don’t comply.”
The situation, at a point, had gotten so bad that several people had surrounded Poonawalla’s company multiple times, and accused him of profiting from the COVID-19 vaccines, he said.
In April, the institute put a price tag on the supply of domestic vaccine Covishield, charging private hospitals Rs.600 (C$9.94) per vaccine dose supply and government and state hospitals Rs. 400 per dose supply (C$ 6.63).
“Everything falls on my shoulders, but I can’t do it alone…I don’t want to be in a situation where you are just trying to do your job, and just because you can’t supply the needs of X, Y or Z, you really don’t want to guess what they are going to do,” Poonawalla told The Times.
He told the outlet that he planned to stay in London for an ‘extended period of time’, but hours after the interview was published, tweeted that he would return in a few days.
The pharmaceutical company plans to begin production of the vaccines in London in the coming days, according to Poonawalla.
“There’s going to be an announcement in the next few days,” he said.
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